Biggest Changes In Rainbow Six’s Operation Collision Point

Key Takeaways

• Thunderbird’s healing buff makes her a more viable pick in Rainbow Six Siege post-Operation Collision Point.
• Operation Collision Point introduces Mousetrap to address the issue of Keyboard and Mouse advantage on consoles.
• Shield melee attacks have been nerfed in Collision Point, making shields easier to counter in Rainbow Six Siege.

Rainbow Six Siege is an incredibly popular competitive tactical FPS that added many new elements to the genre with its 2015 release. Map destruction and the one-shot headshot mechanic defined its unique competitive nature, traits that have played a role in it becoming an e-sport.

The last season of Year 9 of Rainbow Six Siege is entitled Operation Collision Point and has introduced many much-needed changes. These include operator reworks, new matchmaking elements, and plenty of beneficial balancing changes. Players should ensure they know these key changes before jumping into Collision Point, as many operators and playstyles now work slightly differently, some increasing and others decreasing in power.

1 Thunderbird

Healing That Can Compete With Doc

Thunderbird is an interesting operator, deploying stationary healing robots that periodically heal a small amount of health to anyone in proximity. Due to the fast-paced, rotation-heavy gameplay in Rainbow Six Siege, this healing often didn’t warrant a pick, as most people on defense don’t stay in one spot. This made Thunderbird considerably underpowered.

In Operation Collision Point, there has been a crucial change to Thunderbirds healing that may see her pick rate increase. The healing stations heal someone in proximity, as before. However, this buff now applies a periodical heal to the player, regardless of their proximity to the healing station. This healing stops if damage is taken, but presuming damage is avoided, then players can be healed considerably, wherever they are.

2 Crossplay

Cross Platform Lobbies and Mousetrap

Crossplay is a contentious topic in modern gaming, with many games pushing for a completely open matchmaking system that includes all input device types. The issue with Rainbow Six Siege, however, is that Keyboard and Mouse players boast a significant advantage over Controller players in most instances. Thus, the use of devices that allow for a Keyboard and Mouse on Console has caused much strife for the console community.

Operation Collision Point has introduced a solution to this, in the form of a reworked Mousetrap. This system will put any console players caught using a Keyboard and Mouse into PC lobbies. Along with this system, there is also a crossplay system, meaning as long as players’ input devices match, they can play together regardless of the system. This means Rainbow Six Siege accounts now have two separate ranks; Console and PC.

3 Shield Nerf

Defenders Rejoice

For many seasons, shield operators have consistently proved to be a powerful element on the attacking side. Often difficult to kill and annoying to play around, many players have asked for shields to be nerfed to create a more balanced fight.

The main issue of inconsistent melee fights with shields has been fixed in Operation Collision Point. Now, shields cannot kill with their melee, and any incoming melee attack will consistently interrupt the shield melee attempt. This means that shields will now be easier to melee and stagger, resulting in a bigger and more consistent window to kill them.

4 Ying Nerf

Taking Some Power From Ying

Ying has always been a powerful operator, although the recent regular adoption of Ying has brought her power to the forefront of players’ attention. Of course, the main issue with Ying is her ability to throw very quick flashes that blind enemies in a large area.

Operation Collision Point has sought to remedy this by removing her ability to deploy instant flashes, extending the time it takes for the flash to fully deploy. This gives defenders a larger window to avoid the flash and fight Ying, allowing more agency to those aware defenders who are quick to avoid the Candelas.

5 Sens Buff

A Much-Needed Improvement

Sens was first introduced as part of the season entitled, Operation Vector Glare. They deploy ROU Projectors that roll across the floor and extend a sight-obscuring blockade to allow for entry into rooms. Sens was often considered underpowered and very situational, with smokes often proving to be a more valuable entry tool given its position as a secondary gadget rather than a primary gadget.

Operation Collision Point aims to remedy Sens’ utility issues, allowing far more freedom and control over the ROU Projectors. Sens players will now be able to choose to bring their vision-blocker up and down at will, also being able to roll the gadget more stealthily with the vision-blocker initially undeployed. This means Sens has far more versatility. For example, the ability to raise the blocker when planting, but retract it in a post-plant scenario.

6 Blackbeard Rework

The New Shield On The Block

Blackbeard is an incredibly tenured operator in Rainbow Six Siege, having been through many significant balancing changes. Ultimately, Blackbeard ended up proving quite difficult to balance, always either being too powerful or entirely too weak. For example, early Blackbeard had a nearly indestructible shield on his gun. This was nerfed to the extent that in the seasons leading Operation into Collision Point, Blackbeard’s shields were incredibly weak, often breaking in one shot.

Operation Collision Point has entirely reworked Blackbeard to reinvigorate his playstyle and hopefully make it easier to balance. Now, Blackbeard still wields a primary weapon but also has a ballistic shield that he can drop to an angle to peer above with his primary weapon. Blackbeard can rappel with this shield raised, as well as use it to instantly destroy and enter through barricades. Functionally, Blackbeard plays as a standard shield operator, who wields his primary weapon instead of a pistol. Time will tell how useful this is, but many players believe it to be a very strong change.